Caatinga Ethnobotany: Anthropogenic Landscape Modification and Useful Species in Brazil’s Semi-Arid Northeast

• Published in: Economic botany 2009-12, Vol.63 (4), p.363-374
• Main Authors: Santos, Lucilene Lima dos, Ramos, Marcelo Alves, Silva, Suzene Izídio da, Sales, Margareth Ferreira de, Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino de
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; anthropogenic activities; Anthropogenic factors; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; botanical composition; Caatinga; Economic botany; Economic resources; Ethnobotany; Fodder; Food plants; foods; Forage; forest products; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genera; herbs; indigenous peoples; interviews; landscapes; lianas; Life Sciences; Medicinal plants; Plant Anatomy/Development; Plant Ecology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Plants; Rainy season; Rainy seasons; seasonal forests; seasonal variation; Shrubs; trees; Vegetation
• ISSN: 0013-0001; 1874-9364
• DOI: 10.1007/s12231-009-9094-3

This study explores the contribution of anthropogenic landscapes in providing useful botanical resources to a Caatinga community in Pernambuco, Brazil. Ethnobotanical data were collected through semi-structured interviews using the checklistinterview method and by means of a "field herbarium" of the most abundant species in the anthropogenic zones. We recorded 119 species distributed in 36 families, of which 79 were found to be useful. Forage was the most prominent use category, containing 84% of the citations, followed by medicinals (36.70%), foods (10.12%), and wood (8.86%). Herbaceous species predominated (63.29%), followed by shrubs (3.79%), sub-shrubs (21.51%), trees (8.86%), and creepers (2.53%). Trees exhibited a greater number of uses than other life-forms (p< 0.05). Significant differences in richness were found, with the highest richness of species 0(2= 60.28, p< 0.05), genera (x2= 49.03, p< 0.05), and families (x2= 20.16, p< 0.05) appearing in the rainy season. We concluded that fodder use was the most important category in our anthropogenic research areas, accounting for a higher number of species, genera, and families. The next most important categories were medicinal, timber, and food plants, respectively.